
Version Summary
Overview
- 1 day
- 25 km
- 25 km
Strengths
- Useful for large-scale monitoring of sea ice
- Microwave observations provide surface snow and ice coverage during cloudy and night-time (including polar night) conditions (Cavalieri et al., 1999)
- Thorough inter-calibration between sensors for consistency throughout the record (Cavalieri et al., 1999; Cavalieri et al., 2012)
- Less sensitive to temperature variations because it uses ratios instead of differences (Comiso et al., 1997)
- Concentrations are generally reliable within the ice pack (away from the ice edge) during cold (non-melt) conditions (Comiso et al., 1997)
- Useful input/validation of climate model simulations (National Center for Atmospheric Research Staff, 2017)
Limitations
- Low spatial resolution (25 km gridded) limits detail on concentration and precision of sea ice edge; is unsuitable for operational/navigational support (Cavalieri et al., 1999)
- Underestimates sea ice concentration during melt season (Kern et al., 2020) and/or when the ice is thin (Ivanova et al., 2015)
- Higher uncertainties in Antarctica due to flooded snow and other ice characteristics (Comiso et al., 1997)
- Algorithm coefficients are fixed for a given sensor, so biases can occur if characteristic surface conditions change (Cavalieri et al., 1999)
- False coastal ice can occur due to mixed land and ocean within a sensor footprint (Cavalieri et al., 1999)
- Near-real-time product with no planned reprocessing for long-term consistency; should not be used to derive long-term trends in sea ice or snow (Cavalieri et al., 1999)